Alborz Datar v. National Oilwell Varco, L.P.
This is a failure to accommodate and wrongful termination case under Chapter 21 of the Texas Labor Code and the Texas Workers’ Compensation Act. Datar worked for NOV for five years, most of that time as a welder. Datar did not have any poor performance evaluations, warnings, or write-ups. In fact he was praised and given a raise in February 2013. Only a few months later, in May 2013, Datar was injured at work, accordingly obtained workers’ compensation benefits, and sought disability-related accommodations. Also, that same month, he made a complaint of sexual harassment, which was acknowledged and investigated by NOV. NOV refused any accommodations and fired him on June 3, 2013, one business day after it completed its investigation into his harassment complaint and literally minutes after he returned from getting an MRI related to his workplace injury. During the termination meeting Datar indicated his ongoing willingness to work, and his immediate supervisor later admitted that he could have continued working rather than be terminated. Furthermore, NOV did not follow its company-wide progressive discipline policy, as it has with other similarly situated employees. As a result, the district court erred in granting summary judgment, as there are fact issues that a jury should resolve.